New Tires

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 2:31 pm

OK, since I've got a flat in the rear tire I expect I am going to have to replace it.

For those who have replaced tires on their Buddys, what did you get? I have heard of people using the Michelin S83, is anybody riding on those? If so, how do they compare to the stock tires?

I am thinking that the tread pattern on the stock tires (with the tread down the center) isn't best for some of the really messed up roads I frequent, and I didn't like the way it behaved crossing a metal grating bridge near my house, but what do I know? Was I imagining things and really the pattern is fine?

Also, based on past threads, it sounds like changing it myself may be out of my league. Has anybody here changed a rear tire themselves?

AxeYrCat · Post by **AxeYrCat** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 3:31 pm

Kevin, I think you should talk to Seth about all of the above...

You may just want to replace the rear tire with the same rear tire.

The Cheng's aren't anything to write home about, but they're certainly adequate tires for the VAST majority of riders.

Seth gets his leaning so far that he was scraping the center stand. So he removed it. Now, he scrapes more significant bits of the bike.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 4:46 pm

AYC,

I will be talking to Seth, absolutely. I hoped to be slightly better informed first.

I called him before having the Buddy towed to my house, to ask if we should just go straight to Metro instead. Seth said it was probably a good idea, but they were closing for the night and I would have been stranded there and he said he'd have to order the tire anyway.

I'm going to pump some air into it and see if it holds at all, maybe I can ride it to Metro. If not, I know a couple people with pickups I can probably con into taking me there.

weebl · Post by **weebl** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 5:28 pm

the "wandering" feeling going over a metal grating isn't really the fault of the tire, it's considered a "feature" of motorcycles and other 2-wheeled vehicles. Some tires may be a little better or worse on grating, but overall you probably won't get rid of that wander/sway. Just maintain your speed and keep going forward and you'll be fine.

rajron · Post by **rajron** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 8:01 pm

Our tires are 3.50 â€“ 10 51J
Or its 3.5 inches wide with a 10 inch rim
51 = load capacity of 430 lbs â€“ OK rating
J = sustained speed of 62 mph â€“ very low rating even for a scoot but then again who travels with a 430 lbs load at a sustained 62mph.

With 2 wheels never mix tires unless you really know what your doing.
Even with car tires its not good to mix, with just 2 wheels its more important to keep them the same.

Tire pressures are very imortant as well.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 9:36 pm

I'm either going to replace it stock (the cheap option at about $20 for one tire) or go with the S83, which cost twice as much and I would need two of them. Ouch.

Lagerhead · Post by **Lagerhead** » Wed Dec 06, 2006 10:15 pm

I have no real experience with any other tires than the stock ones but I've done a fair bit of research and from what I've read and heard the Continental Zippy 1's are what I'll probably be going with soon. The Continental ContiTwist looks interesting as well but I haven't found anyone who has tried them yet. I don't even know if the ContiTwist is available in the US.

Post by **ericalm** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 1:49 am

I've got Michelin Pilots on my Vespa and love them. I never really got what people meant by "grippy" tires until I rode on these. Hard to compare to Buddy stock because they ride differently anyways. I'm not overly fond of the tread on the Buddy stock tires but haven't heard of any problems with them (yet).

A lot of people love the Zippys, too. Ask your dealer what he's got in stock that will fit. You can get most of these tires for under $50ea.

That said, unless you're really confident with disassembling the back end of the scoot, you probably want to have them do the work. It's a more complex operation than the front tire.

Coach B · Post by **Coach B** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 4:26 am

I've got the S83s and they are great when there is sand or pea gravel on the road. They also do better in snow. The feel of cornering is very different, but learnable. They kind of feel wierd going straight because the shape is different, but I like them. I'm hoping Genuine will come out with some better wheels so I can have a more normal tread for summer and use the S83s for winter.

lobsterman · Post by **lobsterman** » Thu Dec 07, 2006 5:07 am

The current plan is to put a tube in the flat back tire if it is in pretty good shape. Seth said he's been running that way on his for a couple thousand miles.

If the tire is completely shot, I'll have to order something. Apparently the stock Cheng Shins are not readily available through the normal channels used by my shop.

I put air in it tonight and we'll see if it holds at all. If it does, getting to the shop will be a lot easier.